


Catching Up

by elynne



Category: World of Warcraft
Genre: Hillsbrad, Wolfmane Tribe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-17
Updated: 2018-04-17
Packaged: 2019-04-24 08:03:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14351325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elynne/pseuds/elynne
Summary: After staying behind to care for her injured raptor, Khydann attempts to reunite with the Wolfmane Tribe, only to find that they've already moved on.





	Catching Up

Two figures trudged up the hill from the river in the waning evening light. As they crested the rise, the taller figure stopped, scanning the orc camp huddled around the entrance of a surprisingly deep tunnel. A patrolling guard swerved in his path and approached them, axe in hand but not raised--yet. "What do you want?" he asked, squinting a bit as he approached the female tauren and the smaller, dusky raptor standing beside her.

Khydann sighed. From her cursory scan, even in the uncertain light, it was obvious that there was a lack of tauren nearby. "I was told that the Wolfmane had come up here," she said tiredly. "But it looks like they've already moved on again."

"That herd of tauren?" the orc said with something approaching a sneer. "They left yesterday. Good riddance--they were stirring up trouble with our neighbors, and they wouldn't even join the local patrols. We're fighting to hold our ground here, and they're mooning around, claiming to be 'unaligned'--but they're happy enough to take the protection of the Horde when they need it." He spat on the ground, then eyed the tauren, shifting his axe slightly. "You one of them?"

Khydann glared back. She didn't twitch a muscle towards her gun, and while Tsaarak was fidgeting a bit, obviously sensing the tension, she gave no signal to the raptor. "Yes, I'm with them, private," she said, with slight emphasis on the orc's rank. "I'm one of their protectors, honorably discharged from Draenor after a decade of service, and I'll thank you not to question the allegiances of people you clearly know nothing about."

Something about her stance or tone made the orc straighten up, lifting his chin defensively, but he put his axe back in its harness on his back. "Yes, sir," he growled, seemingly almost against his will. "You'll want to talk to Warmaster Laggrond. He'll know where they went, if anybody does." He broke her gaze, looking off into the shadows. "I gotta get back to my patrol," he mumbled, and wandered off without another word.

As he walked away, Khydann sighed quietly, stroking Tsaarak's crest. "We might as well stay here for the night," she said, resettling the pack on her back. "Maybe we'll find out where they went, without having to track them down ourselves."

Approaching the camp, Khycann could see clear signs of a large number of additional tents that had been set nearby, but the area had been left clean and well-tended. A few orc peons were trudging around the campgrounds, carrying firewood or lugging cauldrons of water, and Khydann approached one of them, a scrawny-looking female. 

"Excuse me," she said, and waited patiently as the orc cowered, then realized that the tauren wasn't an immediate threat and lowered the sack she'd been carrying. "The tauren that were camped here--do you know where they went, when they left?"

The orc blinked at her for a minute. "Some elfs came," she finally responded. "Said they were going to Silverpine. You with them? Got left behind?"

"My companion was injured," Khydann said, stroking Tsaarak's crest again. "I had to remain behind until she was fit to travel again, but I'm trying to catch up now. Do you know if they went to the Sepulcher?"

"Sep... pul..." The orc shook her head. "Dunno. They didn't say that word. The elfs, they said something else, sighers. Sigh-ons."

"The Scions?" Khydann said, surprised. "I thought they were based out of Silvermoon. Were the Wolfmane going all the way to the elf lands?"

"Dunno," the orc repeated. "They said short trip though, just to Silverpine. Maybe goblin knows more," she added, gesturing to a merchant who was storing away goods in preparation for closing his tent for the day.

"Thank you," Khydann said sincerely. She decided to rest for the night, then ask the Goblin for more information in the morning before heading out. "You've been very helpful. Here--I caught this, I was going to share it with the tribe, but since they're not here, you can have it instead." She reached back and unfastened the carcass of a medium-sized game bird that had been hanging under her pack. When she saw that the Wolfmane were gone, she'd thought of feeding it to Tsaarak, but she wanted to give the peon something tangible in gratitude for her help.

The orc took the bird, her eyes widening in surprise. "Thanks!" she said, baring her fangs in a wide smile. "Good eatin'! All you taurens have been real helpful--brought us lots of firewood, got us herbs, repaired stuff. Some of the fighters don't like 'em because they won't join the army, but I liked having them here. You good people." The peon hefted her sack and nodded to Khydann, carrying the bird in her other hand. "Bye, be safe!" she added, before trotting back off to the camp.

Khydann smiled after her, ears perked slightly. "Well, I'm glad they made a good impression with someone," she said softly, and chuckled. "Let's find a place to sleep, and we'll see if there's a stew or something we can get in on." She lifted her head, nostrils flaring as she sniffed. "Smells like they're cooking... turtle?"


End file.
